Today I want to discuss the meaning of things. Is it right to want to attribute meaning to everything? Is it right to want to convey a clear message, or is it better to tell a story as best as possible and leave the viewer to interpret the moral? It's an interesting dilemma, full of unexpected surprises.
I remember a time when a heated debate broke out between my parents regarding the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea." Many of you will remember it. Essentially, the story tells of a prince who, after searching in vain for a suitable princess, complains one stormy evening that there are no women sensitive, beautiful, and delicate enough for him. His mother, who has rejected all suitors with the firmness typical of a mother-in-law, agrees with him. During that stormy night, a young girl, soaked from head to toe, knocks on the castle door. She has a beautiful face and courteous manners, and claims to be a princess from a distant kingdom, come to meet the prince. The queen, highly skeptical, decides to test the supposed princess's delicacy. She orders the servants to prepare a bed with seven mattresses, and under the first mattress—the one at the bottom of the pile—she secretly places some dried peas. The girl thanks him for his hospitality and retires to sleep.
The next morning, with a bright sun shining in the sky, the young girl leaves the room. The queen immediately asks her, "How did you sleep, dear?" "Terribly," the girl replies. "It's as if you slept on a rock. These mattresses are so uncomfortable, I don't know how you manage to sleep on them!" At that moment, the queen realizes she's dealing with a real princess. It's not long before the prince and the young girl are married and, as they say, live happily ever after. (Although I have some doubts, and now I'll tell you why.)
I was in the great hall of my house in Milan, and I don't remember how, but my parents and I ended up talking about this fairy tale. The most astonishing thing was the two different interpretations that emerged from the story. One of them maintained that "The princess was so sensitive, with such fine skin and such a delicate soul, that she could even feel the peas under seven mattresses." The other, however, stated: "But no, it's clear that it's not possible to feel three peas under seven mattresses. The very fact that the princess complained about seven mattresses proves she's a princess! The queen realized she was a princess because, even though she had everything she needed for a perfect night's sleep, she complained anyway!"
How is it possible that two such different interpretations can emerge from the same story? This, as I've already mentioned, is the power of attribution. But it's also the power of reading. Reading is a creative act, generating unique ideas, visions, and morals in the reader, mirrors of our inner selves. In the reading process, there is no "imposition" of thought, but rather a "creation" of thought. Reading signifies freedom, growth, autonomy. It's the closest we have to living something, without the attendant risks.
So read! Read! Read! Who knows, maybe a story you've already read might turn out to be a completely different story after rereading it.
On to the next page
And this is precisely the magic of literature!
Offering each of us different perspectives, different hypotheses...
Naturally, as a child, I was inclined to believe she had delicate, white skin like a princess... thanks to the colorful drawing in the storybook that nullified the gravitational pull of the seven mattresses!
I fully agree with the invitation to read and reread, because personal interpretations of any text can change over time and space; nuances that aren't apparent on the first reading become apparent later. As always, well done Flavio!
Rereading is sometimes reconstructing a story so let's not stop reading and delving deeper. Thanks Flavio Parenti for this speech 🙏☺️ reading is freedom and autonomy
Hi Flavio, I think I agree with the second version of the story, in any case there are always different versions of every story based on the point of view of the person observing it.
Yes, it's true, rereading books is definitely good advice.
The first reading sometimes makes us focus on certain contents because perhaps we are the ones who want to find them but this makes us neglect the rest that is equally valid.
Thanks for this page. ☺️
Your explanations through the story are beautiful... And thanks for your reading tips❣️👏👏👏😍✨
I never thought of a different interpretation, maybe because it was never particularly appealing to me.
Nice, thinking about it, you know, I can't place it in either theory, maybe I'll find one of yours or mine...
How many books have I read in my youth with a so-so opinion, then picked them up again and remained pleasantly involved so much that I loved their authors (Pavese, Celine, Dostoevsky). Bye👋
Hi, Flavio.
The fairy tales of the past are beautiful, and the one you mention... well, it's no exception!
Yes, it's true, sometimes, there can be different interpretations.
It's also nice to compare notes on a reading...
And then, you know, those who love to write must devour books...
Until next time,
Cynthia
I knew this story as a child and I didn't understand how she felt something under so many mattresses: she was hypersensitive or the guests were mischievous or provocative. It's a question of point of view. Sometimes you understand a story after years of reading it. It doesn't hurt to reread a story and in a certain sense reread it. Thanks Flavio Parenti 🙂 thanks
You're absolutely right, Flavio. When I was sixteen, I read Anna Kerenina for the first time. The review was negative (luckily, social media didn't exist, otherwise I would have rambled on with a series of meaningless nonsense, but appropriate for a sixteen-year-old). I reread the novel at 40. In a way, I was almost forced to because of my studies... well, now I think it's a masterpiece.
The creative act of a novel, there's nothing you can do about it, is completed by the reader and the story can take on a meaning that is always different even in its sameness.
Thanks Flavio
That's why I'll reread your book!
❤️🙏🌹
